Civil War Introduced RDJ's Doctor Doom 10 Years Ago

Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom, but his debut as this character happened a decade ago. The MCU shows no signs of stopping soon, and it continues expanding both on TV and film. The MCU is currently preparing for two new massive crossover events with Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secrets Wars, which will bring together old and new characters.

Some of the biggest surprises in Avengers: Doomsday are the return of Chris Evans’ Captain America and Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom. The latter will be the main villain in Avengers: Doomsday, and it will be Downey Jr.’s first MCU movie since Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame. However, the MCU already showed Downey Jr.’s villainous side in Captain America: Civil War.

Captain America: Civil War Showed What Tony Stark Looks Like As A Villain

Tony Stark staring intensely at Steve Rogers in Captain America Civil War

The superhero that kicked off the MCU is Iron Man, and as such, he led the first four phases of this connected universe while also co-leading the Avengers. The latter team was also led by Captain America, and while both led the team to success, they often clashed due to their different views and ways.

These differences between Iron Man and Captain America reached a boiling point in Captain America: Civil War, where, as a result of the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron and an incident in Lagos, the Sokovia Accords were created. These looked to oversee and control the Avengers, prompting a division between Team Iron Man (who supported the agreement) and Team Captain America (who were against it).

Despite both having valid arguments and looking for the best for the team, Iron Man was presented as the villain of the two. Stark took an authoritarian stance and took that side due to guilt over what happened at Sokovia, which drove him to fight his teammates. Civil War also saw Iron Man targeting the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) as he killed his parents while under mind control.

Civil War showed Iron Man’s darkest side, which the MCU could use as the basis for Downey Jr.’s return now as Doctor Doom. Doomsday’s villain hasn’t really been established before like Thanos was, with his only appearance so far being in the post-credits scene of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. If Stark went that far over the accords, one can only imagine what he would do as Doom.

Will Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom Be An Iron Man Variant?

Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man snaps with the Infinity Stones in Avengers Endgame's final battle
Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man snaps with the Infinity Stones in Avengers Endgame’s final battle

When the MCU confirmed its multiverse, it not only allowed it to bring characters from Marvel movies outside the MCU into this universe (such as Fox’s X-Men and Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man), but it also introduced the concept of variants.

These are alternate versions of the characters from the MCU timeline from other timelines, such as Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man, the different Lokis, and the now-forgotten variants of Kang at the end of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Thanks to this, it’s being theorized that Doctor Doom could be an Iron Man variant.

This, of course, is fueled by Downey Jr. playing both characters, so it could be that Doctor Doom is a version of Stark who went on a dark path at some point, and his continuous experiments led him to multiversal traveling. The MCU’s multiverse makes way for countless possibilities, but it will have to explain Doctor Doom and Tony Stark looking the same, somehow.

Why Robert Downey Jr. As Doctor Doom Will Work

Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark looking at Pepper Potts in Avengers: Endgame
Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark looking at Pepper Potts in Avengers: Endgame

Doctor Doom is an exciting addition to the MCU, but what made it even better was Robert Downey Jr.’s casting. Downey Jr. was key to the popularity of the MCU, and this universe has definitely felt the consequences of his departure. In terms of regaining the audience’s interest, Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom was the best option.

Downey Jr. also knows the MCU like no other and was there from the very beginning up until its peak with Avengers: Endgame. Surely, the MCU has changed a lot since Thanos’ defeat, but Downey Jr.’s return will surely bring that touch of “old school” MCU that it needs so badly – and, of course, there’s also Downey Jr.’s acting range.

Downey Jr. was able to bring to life the layers and complexities of Tony Stark, showing the different shades of the character and his struggles with the concept of being a hero. Downey Jr. will surely bring that depth to Doctor Doom, who surely has a complex backstory that led him to be who he is now.

Robert Downey Jr. has already given the audience a taste of what he’s like as an MCU villain, and hopefully, the MCU will seize this in Avengers: Doomsday.